


Here On Out

by unsaltysaltines



Series: Come Tomorrow [2]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: And I'm a sucker for emotional snuggling, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, I don't know, I'm just useless OKAY, There be some almost-smut here?, This is Angsty and Soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2019-09-18
Packaged: 2020-11-02 07:26:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20667521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsaltysaltines/pseuds/unsaltysaltines
Summary: This grew out of speculation between myself andDeputyydipshit, where we wondered what it might look like if Waverly and Nicole's roles were reversed once she returns from the Garden.Aka, we wanted to know what it might look like if Nicole was the one who experienced lasting effects after Waverly disappeared so we brainstormed some of these scenes.





	Here On Out

**Author's Note:**

> I *realize* I said no more Garden fics, but I just kind of…took this prompt and ran.
> 
> [Here's the song link](https://open.spotify.com/track/1p0R5cAQaMh7lM5Zt3X67h?si=u27pp0g3TCiAQaD6j57FPg), because this is who I am.

***

_ When you laugh, it's like a light_

_That fills me up_

_ 'Cause you are my love _

_ Like when I fell into your eyes _

_ I could not get out _

_ And I could not get enough _

_ *** _

Waverly knows why everyone keeps hovering around her. 

Wynonna says she was gone for months, even though to her it didn’t feel like nearly as long. When she came back, sure, she was exhausted and overwhelmed, but now, she wishes she could tell everyone to take a step back, that she really is okay.

If she’s being completely honest? Waverly just wants to move on from the whole thing. 

She goes back to the station, to the Black Badge office, because she’s ready to get back to working with the team. Or at least, she’s ready for whatever the next step is. All the research in the world hadn’t prepared Waverly for a reality where there was no more Earp curse to be broken.

Not much has changed about the Sheriff’s office. The couch is still there, the one where they’d shared their first kiss so long ago, and it quickly becomes Waverly’s new favourite spot in the office. Since demonic activity in Purgatory has dropped off considerably, Waverly finds that she has a lot more time to read and research what she wants, and she can’t complain about the view.

Nicole is quiet as she works at her desk every day, occasionally shooting a glance and a smile in Waverly’s direction. There’s something different about her smile, though, something…heavier. Waverly asks if she’s okay, but Nicole always brushes it off with a halfhearted reassurance that everything is fine, that she’s just been working too much or not sleeping enough. Her walls are up higher than ever, and Waverly spends much of her time looking for any possible way in.

***

_ And now I'm opened up _

_ I am strong I am wild _

_ Like a storm out the stars _

_ In my blood _

_ And it's all because of you _

_ You, my love _

***

As Waverly finishes cooking dinner for them, Nicole takes the opportunity to drain the drink in her hand and pour herself another. She hopes that the alcohol might dull some of the anxiety that’s been sitting with her all day. Because simply being back on the Earp land triggers pain, fear, and stress that she would rather avoid, Nicole’s found herself spending as little time as possible out on the homestead, so Waverly’s date night suggestion has been…challenging for her, to say the least.

But Waverly’s the one who made the plans for tonight, and Nicole desperately wants to be able to enjoy the night with her. _ Especially _ because they haven’t been intimate in so long, and even her overwhelming anxiety doesn’t trump the fact that she desperately wants to feel Waverly beneath her touch, to run her lips over every inch of the soft, tanned skin she’s missed so much, to feel Waverly tremble in her arms. To feel some sense of normalcy again.

The alcohol warms Nicole’s body as she takes a huge swig of her fresh drink, but she still can’t seem to relax. She’s carrying tension in her shoulders, she can feel it, and no matter how many deep breaths she tries to take, it’s like her lungs just won’t fill.

“Nicole.”

Waverly’s voice pierces through the fog, and Nicole realizes she’s zoned out entirely.

“You okay?” Waverly asks. She crosses the small kitchen to where Nicole is leaning against the frame, watching Waverly from afar, and takes her face in her hands. “You look tense.”

Gently, Waverly runs her thumbs across Nicole’s cheekbones, and that small motion is enough to send a wave of conflicted emotion rippling through Nicole’s chest.

“You can talk to me, baby,” Waverly says. Her hazel eyes roam over Nicole’s face, taking in every anxious crease. “You haven’t been acting like yourself lately.”

Nicole opens and closes her mouth as she tries to come up with something, _ anything _ to say. She leans in slightly, so her forehead is resting against Waverly’s, and pauses for a moment while trying to gather her thoughts.

“It’s okay,” Waverly says quietly as she sees the tension cross Nicole’s face. “You don’t have to say anything.” She kisses Nicole gently and smiles up at her, eyes crinkling at the corners.

What Nicole really wants, more than anything, is to take off into the mountains. To wrap Waverly in her favourite bonus blankets and find a cave somewhere in the Rockies where they can live together without worrying about one of them being killed or kidnapped at any moment. If she had it her way, in fact, Nicole would never be separated from Waverly again.

After dinner, Waverly suggests they watch a movie on the couch, but Nicole has other ideas. She wraps her arms around Waverly’s waist in the middle of the kitchen and pulls the shorter woman flush with her own body, kissing her deeply. Waverly hums happily against Nicole’s mouth as she wraps her arms around Nicole’s neck and kisses her back hungrily.

“I’ve missed you,” Nicole murmurs as the brunette turns her attention to her neck, dropping quick, light kisses along the expanse of pale skin that cause Nicole to break out in goosebumps. Waverly’s fingers tangle in Nicole’s hair, a sense of urgency building with every kiss.

The words building in Nicole’s chest are quickly chased out of her mind by Waverly’s wandering hands, as eager as though the relationship was brand new. She runs her hands down Nicole’s sides and under the hem of her button-down, causing Nicole to let out a small yelp of surprise.

“What is it?” Waverly asks, stopping her ministrations immediately. “What’s wrong?”

Nicole smirks as she takes Waverly’s hands between both of her own. “Your hands. They’re freezing.” She rubs the brunette’s hands and kisses her knuckles gently.

“Well, why don’t you help me…warm them up?”

Waverly’s voice is low, almost husky, as she pulls her hands from between Nicole’s and returns them to her waist. This time, Nicole is anticipating the feeling of cold hands on her bare skin, and she lets out a gasp as Waverly gently rakes her nails across her stomach.

“You’re always so warm,” Waverly murmurs against Nicole’s mouth before slipping her tongue in between Nicole’s lips. Nicole groans at the contact, a wave of desire flooding her entire body, and this time it’s her who threads her fingers through Waverly’s honey-coloured waves. Waverly slides her hands around Nicole’s waist and up her back, pushing Nicole’s shirt up and causing goosebumps to erupt across her entire torso. “And this shirt is getting in my way.”

***

_ And I want you to know _

_ I still need you so _

_ I want you to know _

_ And I still need you so _

***

Waverly’s mouth blazes a trail of fire across Nicole’s stomach as she kisses every inch of soft, pale skin she can find. Nicole tries to reach down and bring Waverly closer to her, to take control. She desperately wants to feel Waverly’s body beneath her, to feel reassurance that she’s really here and she’s not going anywhere.

“Mm-mmm,” Waverly murmurs against Nicole’s skin, looking up at her with fire in her eyes. She sits back on her heels momentarily to survey the woman beneath her. “Let me.”

At her words, Nicole pulls her back down on top of her for a searing kiss. 

“_Waverly _…”

Each syllable of her name falls from Nicole’s lips like a prayer, and it sends another hot wave of desire through Waverly’s core. She kisses Nicole one more time before beginning to move back down her body, only to be stopped by Nicole’s hand on her shoulder.

“Please,” she says, her voice thick with emotion. “I need you…here.”

“Okay,” Waverly breathes. “I’m here, baby.”

Nicole inhales sharply as Waverly slips one hand between her legs. She grinds her hips up and into Waverly’s hand, desperately seeking the contact she craves.

If she were with anybody but Waverly, Nicole would be mortified by the fact that it’s all of a minute before she’s approaching the edge.

“It’s okay, baby,” Waverly murmurs against Nicole’s mouth. “I’m not going anywhere. Let go.”

As she comes down, something else begins welling up in Nicole’s chest. She’s overwhelmed by everything around her–the fact that they’re back in Waverly’s bedroom and that Waverly’s here with her–and before she knows it, Nicole feels something warm spilling down her cheeks.

“Hey…”

Waverly kisses Nicole’s chest, then her neck, before finally capturing her lips. She tastes the salt of Nicole’s tears as she tries to comfort her. “It’s okay, I’m here.”

Her soothing tone only serves to draw a shuddering sob from Nicole’s chest.

“Baby, what happened? Did I do something?”

As she props herself up with one hand, she brushes away tears from Nicole’s cheeks with the other. The redhead covers her eyes with one hand as she sobs, and it’s one of the most heartbreaking things Waverly thinks she’s ever seen.

“Nicole, please. You’re starting to scare me…” She drops gentle kisses up Nicole’s neck and cheek in an attempt to comfort her while resting her hand on Nicole’s breastbone. Whatever it is that she’s tapped, Waverly can see it’s affecting Nicole deeply. Beneath her hand, she feels Nicole takes a huge, shuddering breath, and she moves her hand in small circles in what she hopes is a soothing motion.

“I’m s-sorry,” Nicole stammers, voice thick.

“I’ve got you.”

Waverly sits up in Nicole’s lap, and Nicole doesn’t resist as she brings the taller woman up with her. Instinctively, Nicole wraps her arms around Waverly’s waist as Waverly wraps her legs around Nicole’s, pressing her body as flush to the redhead’s as physically possible.

“I’ve _ got _ you,” she repeats firmly, pushing Nicole’s hair back behind her ears before taking her face in her hands. Nicole’s red eyes roam over Waverly’s face, searching for something that Waverly can’t quite pinpoint.

“Don’t leave me again,” Nicole says quietly, her voice hoarse. “_Please _.”

With her quiet plea, so much about Nicole’s behaviour in recent weeks starts to make sense. She’s been incredibly tense, and her anxiety has been visibly off-the-charts. Waverly’s even witnessed her snap at deputies over minor paperwork errors–she always apologizes afterward, but Nicole’s never so quick to irritation.

“Never,” Waverly murmurs as she kisses Nicole softly. “I’m going to marry you, Nicole Haught, and our life together is going to be _ beautiful_.”

In between promises of forever, Waverly kisses every inch of bare skin she can. As her lips ghost over Nicole’s neck, collarbone, shoulders, Nicole takes a huge, shuddering breath and tries to keep herself from dissolving into tears once again.

Nicole’s shoulders tense beneath Waverly’s touch.

“You don’t have to be strong all the time. It’s okay to let go, Sheriff.”

That does it. 

Nicole dissolves in Waverly’s arms, clinging tight to her as Waverly wraps her legs around her midsection even tighter. She knows she’s being needy and clingy, but after having her past and her heart cracked wide open for all to see, she’s vulnerable and she’s _ scared _. 

She desperately needs the reassurance that Waverly provides as she talks about their future as the real, tangible thing they hadn’t dared imagine until recently. About the life they’re going to build for themselves now that the Earp curse is broken. 

Waverly continues to kiss her softly as she describes the home they’ll create, the dog she imagines they’ll rescue from a shelter, the kids they might have one day.

Holding on to her tight, Waverly unwraps herself and gently guides them both back down on the bed. Nicole’s tears mix with the thin sheen of sweat still covering them both, and Waverly goes back to running her fingers through her red waves gently.

“We’re _ partners_, you and me,” Waverly murmurs into Nicole’s hair. “I can be strong _ for _ you sometimes, okay? Just…you’ve gotta let me in, baby.”

Waverly is always cold, but her skin is warm against Nicole’s as she settles herself in bed. As Nicole catches her breath and feels herself start to calm, Waverly somehow maneuvers the covers out from beneath them and buries them both in their softness.

“I promise, Nicole…I’m not going anywhere for a long time,” she says. 

As Nicole makes herself comfortable beside Waverly, she tangles their legs together and tucks her head beneath Waverly’s chin. It’s a little strange, because Nicole’s legs are much longer than hers, but Waverly likes the feeling of Nicole in her arms; the rhythm of her chest expanding and contracting as she breathes is soothing, and Waverly feels like for once, she can protect her.

“I love you, Nicole Rayleigh Haught,” she murmurs. She repeats it over and over as she runs her fingers through the red hair she loves so much, and it’s the last thing Nicole hears before she drifts off to sleep.

***

_ Is it okay if I call you mine _

_ From here on out _

_ As if I could ever stop _

***

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell with me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/unsaltysaltines)!
> 
> Thank you [Blankagenda](https://twitter.com/blankagenda) for making sure this was coherent before going out on the internet!


End file.
